Word-Scenarios

By Moe Lane

The Game Master's Guide states that "the Word-bound are
living embodiments of concepts" (page 21). This seems
clear enough. Elsewhere in that worthy tome it is
indicated that Words are not static: they may be
expanded, contracted or even redefined somewhat. This
would indicate, of course, that all Word-bound are at
least theoretically capable of someday becoming actual
Superiors, on either side. Most would agree that this
is clear, as well.

What is not entirely clear is the relationship between
a Word-bound and the Superior that he serves. There
would continue to be one, of course: otherwise, a
Word-bound Servitor would not be affected by her
Archangel's or Prince's dissonance conditions. The
question is, is the connection deeper? Is a
Word-bound even more in tune with its Superior's very
nature than an ordinary celestial? There is an
obvious temptation to answer 'yes' - but what does
that mean for a campaign? What are the consequences?

Below are several sets of consequences, all of which
answer the above questions in the affirmative. There
are no doubt other possibilities, but these should at
least act as a starting point for further
speculations.

Bright - "Reach out and touch someone."

In this setting, all Word-bound will have an intimate
connection with their Superior: close your eyes, and
there he or she is. That can be comforting, when you
need reassurance. It's also really handy when you
need help right now. Any Word-bound in this setting
can pretty much ignore the mechanics for Summoning
Superiors: your own is no farther away than the inside
of your head, and every other one ... well, you can
usually get a message relayed. The Celestial Song of
Tongues gets somewhat redundant, too.

In this setting, links are voluntary on both sides ...
but who would want to shut out his or her Superior?
Both angels and demons will find this kind of
communion to be deeply energizing, refreshing ... and
possibly a way to overcome dissonance. The more
powerful the Word, the better the connection - but
even a celestial with a Trivial Word will walk proud,
because he or she has constant reassurance of his or
her worth in the scheme of things.

There will be very few Outcast/Renegade/Orphaned
Word-bounds in this setting: the first two types will
be able to keep themselves stabilized, and the third
will usually seek out another Superior immediately to
regain what they have lost. Word-bound Servitors of
Creation will be in hot demand, as both Heaven and
Hell will want them to try to persuade Eli to come in
out of the cold...

Neutral - "He knows when you've been bad or good..."

In this setting, Word-bound keep the connections
listed above, to a lesser extent (adding Word
Forces/2, rounded up, to Invocation rolls and some
uses of the Celestial Song of Tongues sounds about
right) ... but the link isn't quite voluntary. If
your Superior really wants to, he or she can pop in on
your head without too much trouble.

This isn't necessarily bad, per se - but it can be
inconvenient at times. Explaining why you have
inappropriate friends can be awkward: justifying a
particular course of action while on the fly can be
worse. In general, the higher the base chance of
Invocation, the more often this comes up (Dominic
'shows up' once a week, just like always: Janus
usually doesn't bother at all). In Neutral-Dark
settings, there's also a possibility that your
Superior may choose to operate your body remotely...

Outcast or Renegade Word-bound will not be affected by
the above, but it will be easier for their Superiors
to stay in some kind of contact with them (the faint
echo of the original contact means that one-way
messages can be sent). This can range from irritating
to terrifying. Orphaned Word-bound will often show a
determination to stay Orphaned, the better to keep the
voices out of their heads: Word-bound Creationers will
adjust to becoming sentient communication links to Eli
with varying levels of resignation. And everybody
will be watching the Tsayadim and Grigori Word-bound
with whatever eyes that they can spare.

Dark - "Free Will is irrelevant."

In this setting, there are lots less Word-bound than
just about everyone thinks: less than a hundred, in
fact. What happens to the rest of them? Well, in
Heaven's case, the prospective candidate is brought
forth to the Seraphim Council chambers, the Light of
Heaven shines down ... and then one of the Archangels
eats the candidate's soul and takes over the memories
and vessel of his or her new 'Word-bound'.

You don't want to know what Hell does. Believe me,
you don't.

In this setting, every single 'Word-bound' out there
is actually an animated puppet for a Superior (and, in
Hell's case, possibly every Demon Prince is a similar
puppet of Lucifer's). Most celestials never realize
this: Superior ineffability clouds the issue, and the
new puppet is almost indistinguishable from the old
celestial anyway. They apparently show the same
likes, dislikes and quirks as the original, but it's
all a sham: there's an Archangel or Prince peeping
from behind those eyes, and they all watch for any
indication that any celestial suspects what's actually
going on. Those that do go on the short list for
Words - or get to join the Seraphim Council and keep
their mouths shut.

In this setting, the War itself is probably a sham:
the thirty or so most powerful Superiors may have
agreed among themselves to let their inferiors fight
each other while their leaders grow fat on the deepest
concepts. New Superiors are carefully regulated, and
are either the result of long range plans or drastic
setbacks (the rise of Haagenti would be an excellent
example of the latter). There are no real Outcast
and/or Renegade Word-bound, either: just pieces in
another arena. Orphaned Word-bound have real value,
as they retain within themselves pieces of old
Superiors that someday might be revived and put back
into play. The Tsayadim are a special case: Uriel may
be bored with the game, but he still logs in and makes
a move every now and then.

Of course, there are two possible random factors in
this game: Eli and Lilith. The former is almost
certainly suffering from an imposed exile for a
particularly bad move, and may be prepared to scupper
his opponents' moves out of sheer spite: the latter
may be the only half-tolerable Superior on either
side. What Lilith does with her Daughters is roughly
similar to the above, but the Lilim retain free will:
the Princess of Freedom has never been able to create
mobile puppets like the others. She still won't be
much of a choice, but there aren't that many other
options available to those who Know Too Much...